July 22, 2019 - Stocks Descend from Recent Peaks

July 22, 2019 - Stocks Descend from Recent Peaks

| July 22, 2019

The Week on Wall Street
Stock benchmarks retreated during the first week of the second-quarter earnings season. As some big names shared quarterly results, investors seemed more interested in what might happen at the Federal Reserve's upcoming policy meeting.

For the week, the S&P 500 declined 1.23%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.65%, and the Nasdaq Composite, 1.18%. International stocks, measured by the week-over-week performance of the MSCI EAFE index, were down 0.79%.[1][2]

Households Bought More Last Month
Retail sales were up 0.4% in June, according to the Department of Commerce. Consumer purchases account for more than two-thirds of America's gross domestic product, and data like this may rebut some assertions that the economy is losing steam.[3]

Traders still expect the Federal Reserve to make a rate cut at the end of this month, even with low unemployment, solid consumer spending, and stocks near record peaks. Ordinarily, the Fed lowers interest rates to try to stimulate business growth and investment when the economy lags. After ten years without a recession, its new challenge is to make appropriate moves to ward off such a slowdown.[4]

Will Wall Street's Expectations Be Met?
Thursday, Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams noted that Fed policymakers could proactively adjust interest rates and take "preventative measures" to ward off a potential slowdown. A New York Fed spokesperson later said that Williams' comments were "academic" and did not concern "potential policy actions." Still, Fed Vice President Richard Clarida made similar comments last week, expressing the view that Fed officials "don't have to wait until things get bad to have a dramatic series of rate cuts."[5]

Two other Fed officials - Esther George and Eric Rosengren - have publicly stated that they are not in favor of a cut.[6]

What's Next
About 25% of S&P 500 companies report earnings this week. In addition, the federal government will present its first snapshot of the economy's second-quarter performance.

THE WEEK AHEAD: KEY ECONOMIC DATA
Tuesday: June existing home sales figures appear from the National Association of Realtors.
Wednesday: The Census Bureau presents its June report on new home buying.
Friday: The Bureau of Economic Analysis releases its initial estimate of Q2 economic growth.

Source: Econoday / MarketWatch Calendar, July 19, 2019
The Econoday and MarketWatch economic calendars list upcoming U.S. economic data releases (including key economic indicators), Federal Reserve policy meetings, and speaking engagements of Federal Reserve officials. The content is developed from sources believed to be providing accurate information. The forecasts or forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and may not materialize. The forecasts also are subject to revision.

THE WEEK AHEAD: COMPANIES REPORTING EARNINGS
Moday: Celanese (CE), Halliburton (HAL), TD Ameritrade (AMTD)
Tuesday: Coca-Cola (KO), Texas Instruments (TXN), Visa (V)
Wednesday: AT&T (T), Boeing (BA), Facebook (FB), PayPal (PYPL)
Thursday: Alphabet (GOOGL), Amazon (AMZN), Anheuser-Busch (BUD), Intel (INTC), Starbucks (SBUX)
Friday: AbbVie (ABBV), Colgate-Palmolive (CL), McDonalds (MCD)

Source: Zacks, July 19, 2019
Companies mentioned are for informational purposes only. It should not be considered a solicitation for the purchase or sale of the securities. Any investment should be consistent with your objectives, time frame and risk tolerance. The return and principal value of investments will fluctuate as market conditions change. When sold, investments may be worth more or less than their original cost. Companies may reschedule when they report earnings without notice.


Investing involves risk including the potential loss of principal. No investment strategy can guarantee a profit or protect against loss in periods of declining values.

Diversification does not guarantee profit nor is it guaranteed to protect assets.

International investing involves special risks such as currency fluctuation and political instability and may not be suitable for all investors.

The Standard & Poor's 500 (S&P 500) is an unmanaged group of securities considered to be representative of the stock market in general.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is a price-weighted average of 30 significant stocks traded on the New York Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ. The DJIA was invented by Charles Dow back in 1896.

The Nasdaq Composite is an index of the common stocks and similar securities listed on the NASDAQ stock market and is considered a broad indicator of the performance of stocks of technology companies and growth companies.

The MSCI EAFE Index was created by Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) that serves as a benchmark of the performance in major international equity markets as represented by 21 major MSCI indices from Europe, Australia, and Southeast Asia.

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  1. http://www.wsj.com/
  2. http://quotes.wsj.com/
  3. http://www.cnbc.com/
  4. http://www.cnbc.com/
  5. http://www.thestreet.com/
  6. http://www.cnbc.com/